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A second straight year of declining milk prices will test – and potentially change – short-term management plans for many dairy producers, according to dairy accountants and lenders contacted by Progressive Dairyman.
The current world population is 7.4 billion people, and it is estimated we will reach the 8-billion-person mark sometime in 2024. By 2040, we should reach 9 billion people on the planet. Demands for food, and high-quality proteins in particular, will increase dramatically over the next 10 to 25 years due to a number of factors:
Ten years from now, what will our U.S. dairy industry look like? It’s a fascinating question when you think about it. On one hand, 10 years doesn’t seem like that much time for change. That is, until you look at the many changes we’ve seen as an industry since 2006.
Editor’s note: Mike McCloskey, CEO of Select Milk Producers and founder of Fair Oaks Farms, delivered testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research in February. The following are excerpts from his testimony.
Climate change is real. It has happened, it is happening, and it will continue to happen. It is impacted by agricultural practices, and it impacts agricultural practices.
Climate change means more heat stress. Dairy herds under heat stress mean less milk production, more illness, less dry matter intake, decreased fertility, increased embryonic loss and poor growth.
“Dairy farms do have some impact on climate change. Dairy farms do emit greenhouse gases (GHG). And, of course, the changing climate impacts dairy farms,” Al Rotz, USDA-ARS, said.
Dairies around the world should be concerned about mycotoxins emerging on the farm as fungal threats continue to affect animal, plant and ecosystem health.
